General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 10 August 2020, to elect 41 members to the 12th Trinidad and Tobago Republican Parliament. It was the 14th election since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 and the 22nd national election in Trinidad and Tobago. The result was a victory for the incumbent People's National Movement, which received 49.05% of the vote and won 22 of the 41 seats in the House of Representatives.Results of the Parliamentary Election Held on Monday 7 September 2015 EBCTT

Background President Paula-Mae Weekes, with the advice of Prime Minister Keith Rowley, dissolved Parliament and issued the writs for the election on 3 July 2020.

The first-term incumbent People's National Movement (PNM), led by incumbent prime minister Keith Rowley, won 22 seats to form a second five-year term majority government by defeating the opposition United National Congress, led by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar who finished with 19 seats. The results in six constituencies were subject to recounts, causing the final election results to be delayed by a week. This is the first parliamentary election in Trinidad and Tobago where the result was not finalized the day after the election.

Tracy Davidson-Celestine, political leader of the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement (PNM) became the first woman to lead a Tobagonian political party with representation in the House of Representatives. Additionally, two of the three largest parties elected in 2015, the United National Congress (UNC) and the Congress of the People (COP), were led by women.

Voters elected the 41 members to the House of Representatives by first-past-the-post voting. Rowley and the new cabinet were sworn in on 19 August 2020.

Electoral system The 41 members of the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies. Registered voters must be 18 years and over, must reside in an electoral district/constituency for at least two months prior to the qualifying date, be a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago or a Commonwealth citizen residing legally in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of at least one year.Registering to Vote TT Connect

If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government, with its leader as Prime Minister. If the election results in no single party having a majority, then there is a hung parliament. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition government.

Parties and candidates Political parties registered with the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) can contest the general election as a party.

The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the House of Representatives is the person who is called on by the president to form a government as prime minister, while the leader of the largest party or coalition not in government becomes the Leader of the Opposition.

Prior to the election, the People's National Movement, led by Prime Minister Keith Rowley formed a majority government. The largest opposition party was the United National Congress, led by Kamla Persad-Bissessar. The Congress of the People was the sole other party in Parliament, represented by a single MP.

The People's National Movement and the United National Congress have been the two biggest parties, in addition to having supplied every prime minister since 1991.

On 14 July 2020, the leader of the Patriotic Front, Mickela Panday, announced that her party will no longer be contesting the 2020 elections due to lack of time to prepare for the August 2020 polls.

The following registered parties are contesting the general election, the People's National Movement is the only party fielding all 41 seats (39 in Trinidad and two in Tobago), 14 parties are contesting seats in Trinidad only and four parties are contesting seats in Tobago only.

Campaign Significant differences in the programs of the two major parties UNC and PNM cannot be identified. The UNC is traditionally more of an Indo-Trinidadian party, while Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians make up the majority of the PNM's base. In Trinidad, however, racial differences play a subordinate role, the dominant subject areas in the media are the stagnating economy and the high rate of violent crime; here both parties claim that they are better suited to combat them. In the closing stages of the election campaign, Prime Minister Rowley and citizens accused the UNC of using racist motives in its advertising campaign.

Some parties only represent regional positions. This applies in particular to the parties PDP and OTV, who are running exclusively in Tobago and advocate for regional interests of the island and the MND, which advocates the interests of the Diego Martin region.

The announcement by the opposition UNC that, in the event of an election victory, would build a “dome” over Trinidad to protect against illegal immigrants, made the election campaign relaxed. Before the UNC made it clear that it meant a radar screen, users of social media picked up the topic and indulged in humorous allusions to domes in films and television series.

As for the Leader of the Opposition, former prime minister and political leader of the UNC Kamla Persad-Bissessar, her latest in a series of losses at the polls which commenced with the January 2013 Tobago House of Assembly election with the wipeout of her People's Partnership-led administration from the Tobago House of Assembly due to a landslide victory by the Tobago Council of the PNM, losses at the 2013 Trinidadian local elections, St. Joseph and Chaguanas West bye-elections, loss in the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election, and subsequent losses in local government bye-elections has placed pressure on her to offer her resignation before the 2020 United National Congress leadership election. Additionally, she was threatened with death during the election campaign.

The resignation of former deputy PNM chairwoman Nafeesa Mohammed on July 28, who accused the PNM leadership of arrogance, ignorance and incompetence, caused a media stir. Minor parties and bodies called on the President to postpone the election in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was also rampant in Trinidad, but their requests were denied. A UNC supporter was stabbed on the sidelines of a UNC election campaign on the Saturday before the election.

Trinidad and Tobago Party Founded Political position and ideology Leader(s) Leader since Leader's seat Last election At dissolutionContested seats % party vote SeatsMajor party not part of any coalition1955Centre to centre-leftLiberalism, Social liberalism, NationalismKeith RowleyMay 2010Diego Martin West41 seats in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad only Party Founded Political position and ideology Leader(s) Leader since Leader's seat Last election At dissolution Contested seats % party vote SeatsMajor party not part of any coalition 1989 Centre-leftSocial democracy, Civic nationalismKamla Persad-Bissessar January 2010 Siparia39 seats in TrinidadBetter United Coalition 2006 Centre-leftReformism Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan November 2017 None 4 seats in Trinidad2002Steve AlvarezApril 2002None––1 seat in Trinidad2019Nicholas Anthony Williams August 2019NoneNew party1 seat in TrinidadNot part of any coalition2017Phillip AlexanderJanuary 2017NoneNew party28 seats in Trinidad2015Marcus RamkissoonJuly 2015None7 seats in Trinidad1994Social conservatismFuad Abu BakrApril 2010None6 seats in Trinidad 2009 Left-wingSocialism, Labourism, Direct democracy David Abdulah January 2012 None – – 5 seats in Trinidad2019Diego Martin regionalismGarvin Nicholas September 2019NoneNew party3 seats in Trinidad2013Nalini DialJuly 2013None2 seats in Trinidad2013Rekha RamjitOctober 2015None1 seat in Trinidad2017Valmiki RamsinghJuly 2017NoneNew party1 seat in Trinidad2018Right-wingChristian right, Social conservatismKenneth Munroe-BrownDecember 2018NoneNew party1 seat in Trinidad 2019 Centre to centre-leftProgressivism, Decentralization, LocalismNikoli Edwards June 2019 NoneNew party 1 seat in Trinidad2020Kirk WaitheJanuary 2020NoneNew party1 seat in Trinidad

Tobago only Party Founded Political position and ideology Leader(s) Leader since Leader's seat Last election At dissolution Contested seats % party vote SeatsNot part of any coalition2016Tobago regionalismWatson Duke July 2016 None New party 2 seats in Tobago2019Tobago regionalismHochoy CharlesOctober 2019NoneNew party 1 seat in Tobago2020Tobago regionalismNickocy PhillipsJuly 2020NoneNew party1 seat in Tobago

Members of Parliament not standing for re-election Retiring incumbent Electoral DistrictTerm in officeDate announcedSurujrattan RambachanUNCTabaquite2010–2020Fuad KhanUNCBarataria/San Juan1995–2007; 2010–2020Ganga SinghUNCChaguanas West1995–2007 (Caroni East); 2015–2020Maxie CuffiePNMLa Horquetta/Talparo2015–2020 Tim GopeesinghUNC Caroni East 2007–2020

Marginal seats The following lists identify and rank seats by the margin by which the party's candidate finished behind the winning candidate in the 2015 election.

For information purposes only, seats that have changed hands through subsequent by elections have been noted. Seats whose members have changed party allegiance are ignored.

= appears in two lists

Marginal seats by party (with winning parties and margins from the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election) )Marginal1Moruga/Tableland2.53%1Barataria/San Juan3.18%2St. Joseph8.33%2Chaguanas East7.95%3La Horquetta/Talparo15.56%3Pointe-à-Pierre8.39%4Tunapuna19.13%4Mayaro14.05%5Toco/Sangre Grande19.20%5Cumuto/Manzanilla15.95%6San Fernando West19.39%6Fyzabad18.92%7Point Fortin20.94%7Caroni Central26.11%8Lopinot/Bon Air West28.10%8Tabaquite31.12%9La Brea33.45%9St. Augustine33.57%10D'Abadie/O'Meara34.20%10Couva North34.17%11San Fernando East37.33%11Princes Town35.60%12Arima40.12%12Couva South38.83%13Diego Martin North/East41.40%13Caroni East44.79%14Diego Martin West55.32%14Oropouche West48.70%15St. Ann's East56.55%15Siparia51.60%16Diego Martin Central59.77%16Oropouche East60.02%17Port of Spain South60.81%17Naparima65.53%18Tobago East60.88%18Chaguanas West76.14%19Port of Spain North/St. Ann's West65.62%20Arouca/Maloney63.10%21Tobago West73.48%22Laventille East/Morvant76.84%23Laventille West81.07%24Tobago East53.78%25Tobago West67.24%SafeSource: Parliamentary Elections, 2015 Final Results – Candidates Vote Count

Campaign slogans PartySlogan"The right choice"."Now is the time.""Making the quantum leap"."The way forward for Trinidad and Tobago.""People first.""Time for real change"."Good governance is at your fingertips"."Believe in better"."Create a balance.""We are from Diego Martin, for Diego Martin". "Think before you ink." "Performance, Representation, Action"."Change not exchange!""Progressive 2020. The new normal". Progressive Party - De Guiding Flame (2020)"Time is now.""People before politics".“Tobago must play as a team or lose by the fault.”

Opinion polls Opinion research in the run-up to the election was carried out by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) and the management consultancy HHB Associates, among others. A NACTA poll shortly after the election date was announced, found that, as in most previous elections, only PNM and UNC would play a role. An HHB poll published July 25 in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian found the ruling PNM at 53% and the UNC at 44%. A NACTA poll from July 25, however, saw the UNC one percentage point ahead. At this point in time, the tendency, known from previous elections, was that Trinidadians with African roots tend to choose the PNM and Trinidadians with Indian roots rather the UNC.

Graphical summary

Seat projections